Gov. Chris Christie’s big speech Tuesday night is still rippling across television news shows and the Internet today, garnering both high praise and stinging criticism.

The highly anticipated keynote address thrilled the crowd of thousands gathered for the first night of the Republican National Convention, The Star-Ledger’s Jenna Portnoy reports from Tampa. Drawing from his New Jersey roots and governing experience, Christie laid out a “political manifesto” emphasizing results over ideology.

But is he a statesman who charged up the party faithful, or a self-promoter who went too easy on President Obama? Christie landed somewhere in between, according to political commentators.

National Review Online called the speech “forceful yet muted,” but said that was a welcome departure showing the more serious side of the pugnacious New Jersey governor.

The New York Post and the New York Times both noted that Christie only mentioned Mitt Romney seven times in the latter half of his speech. Fox News’s Chris Wallace noted Tuesday night that Christie “talked a lot about himself.”

And this morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” correspondent David Muir said: “At times it seemed Christie spent more time speaking of himself. It would be 17 minutes before he mentioned the man running for president.”

The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran wrote that Christie avoided some of the hard questions he urged others to tackle. The speech is also a reminder that the governor is best when he’s unscripted, he adds.

The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan applauded Christie’s “high minded” tone and big ideas. But if she had written the speech there would have been more jabs at Obama. Christie did take some swipes at the president last night — though only briefly and without naming him.

“Chris Christie is a politician and there’s nothing in it for him, as a New Jersey Republican, as a guy trying to survive and prosper in a Democratic state, in really bringing it to President Obama,” Noonan wrote. “I want to tell you (Republicans) marched out of the hall Tuesday night on fire for their side. But I was there and they did not.”

Christie spoke after another prime-time address, by Mitt Romney's wife Ann. Her intimate speech about home life with the GOP presidential candidate drove as much news coverage today as Christie.

Byron York, a conservative writer at the Washington Examiner, said Ann Romney hit a home run while Christie “failed to convey the spirit — the essential Christie-ness — that millions have seen in YouTube videos of the New Jersey governor in action.”

NBC News’s Chuck Todd suggested that Ann Romney should have been the closer, since she gave the more appealing speech. On the other hand, the network's Tom Brokaw and David Gregory praised Christie’s sobering message of compromise today.

“He looked like a politician; he didn’t talk like one,” Brokaw said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." “In bars in the Midwest they’ll say, ‘Well, I like that guy.’”

Gregory added that Christie “said some things that appeal to independent voters. There are tough messages here for both parties.”

The Washington Post said Ann Romney was a tough act to follow. “But it was Christie who helped inject some much-needed energy into an arena that had been surprisingly subdued through the early evening,” Dan Balz wrote. “He came on stage punching the air. He clapped as he approached the lectern, returning the welcome he received from the delegates as if to say: Wake up, Republicans. He demanded that they stand up, and they did.”

On “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough said the split verdict on Christie’s speech proved how remarkable Sarah Palin’s vice presidential acceptance speech was in 2008. But the real effect of Christie’s speech might not be apparent until 2016, he said.

“He talked about sacrifice. He talked about compromise. That may not have played well on Twitter, but it will play well with voters in four years,” Scarborough said.